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F. BARTHE.

WAGON BRAKE.

No. 278,948. Patented Juneo, 1883.

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WAGON-BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.' 278,948, dated June 5,18B3,

Application filed April 5, 1883. (Model.)

To all whom it may concern: y

Be it known that I, FRANoIsHARTnR, a citi zen ofthe United States,residing *at Wvilkes- Barr, in the county of Luzerne and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inTagen-Brakes, and I do declare the following to' be afull, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, and to the let-ters and figuresof reference markedA thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention has relation to improvements in wagon-brakes, and itconsists in the construction, combination, and arrangement of theseveral parts, as will be hereinafter described, and pointed out in theclaims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a front view, and Fig. 2 is a verticallongitudinal section, of a section of a wagon having my brake mechanismapplied thereto.

The wheels a a. are spindled on the ends of axle A, which is preferablysecured or connected to the wagon-platform by springs, Sac.,substantially as shown. Bars b b are pivoted to the axle near the innerends of the hubs of the wheels, and are carried forward to a pointsomewhat in advance of the wheels, and are hinged to the lower ends ofbars c c, the upper ends of which bars are pivoted or hinged on theplatform-bar d.

The brake-shoes c are secured on the opposite end of a rod, e', and restagainst the'wheels, as shown. Then so desired, these shoes may have aslight turning or rocking movement on the rod, so that they will readilyadapt themy selves to the periphery of thewheel. Connecting-rodsff arefixed to the rod e', and extend forward, and are coupled or hinged tothe bars,` b c at the hinge-joint of the latter, as shown, .thus forminga connection lbetween the rods b c and the brake-rod, and furnishing asupport for the latter. It will be seen that the brake-rod e extendsacross from wheel to wheel, and that I employ two each of the bars b cand connecting-rods f, arranged on opposite sides, as shown. In order tohold the brake-shoes against or away from the wheels and to regulate theforce of bearing thereof, I employ the lever y, which is pivoted in asuitable bracket or other support connected to the framing, and itslower end is connected with the brake-rode, at about the middle thereof,55

by the pitnian h, so that as thelever r/ is operated the brakeslfoeswill be held against the wheels, as shown in full lines, or away ytherefrom, as indicated in dotted lines, Figi).

This lever may be operated by means of the 6o rod i, connected to itsupper end, and extended forward and provided with the handle t", orother operating means may be employedsuch, for instance, as a chainmight be secured to the upper end of the lever g, and car- 65 riedforward and iliade fast to a foot or hand lever arranged in reach andunder .the control ofthe driver. In the ordinary brakes used onspring-wagons the brakes are usually supported from the 7o the sameposition when the wagon is loaded as So when it is not, and arranged tobear at alll times on about the same portion of the wheels. Thebrake-shoes, it will -be seen, are held at a point above the'bnlge ofthe wheels, so that as the latter are revolved there isa kind of S5wedging action which aids in the braking operation, lenabling the braketo be strongly applied with but little exertion on the part of thedriver. The brake being also connected with or mainly supported by theaxle, the springs 9o are relievedfrom all strain.

It will be understood that in the drawings I haveonly illustrated onetherear half of a wagon, that being the portion to which the brakes areordinarily attached.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent,

l. In a wagon-brake, the combination, substanti ally as described, withaxle and the brake 1 oo By the connections and 7 5 y their oppositeendshinged, respectively7 to Ithe axle and to the platform-bar, theConnectingrodsff7 having one end'seeured to `the brakeshoes and theirother ends pivotallyv secured on the hinge-joint between the rods b c,the lever y, the piti'nan 71, and means for operating the said lever,snbstantiall)V as specified.

2. ln a wagon-brake, the combination ofthe brake-shoe arranged to bearon the wheel at a point above a horizontal line drawn through the axisthereofA` and a bar pivoted to and eX- tended from the axle forwardbeyond the wheel, and providing a pivotal support for the brake` shoe ata point in advance of and below the bearing-point thereof, whereby awedging action of the brake-shoe is obtained7 and the rod wenn@ 7U,having one end pivoted to the rod e and eX 'tended rearward7 with itsotherend secured to the operating mechanism7 all arranged to operatesubstantially as specified.

3. In a wagon-brake7 the combination ofthe rods b e, hinged together andsupported sub stantially as described, the brake-shoes snpported on asuitable rod7 and the connectingrodsj'7 and means for opera-ting thebrake7 all arranged and operating substantiallyv as and for the purposesset forth.

In testiinon)Y whereotl I aix my signature in presenee ot' twowitnesses.

FRANCIS HARTER.

'itnesses:

PHILIP ONEILL, J. R. PERRY.

